The Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
2000
Around 540 pages
This is like being on the last season of a beloved television series. We are going to be saying goodbye to a lot of beloved characters as the writers fumble to tie up storylines. Margaret Atwood definitely earns a spot in my top five, so this is tougher than the other farewells recently. Here's my ranking:
1. A Handmaid's Tale
2. Alias Grace
3. The Robber Bride
4. The Blind Assassin
5. Cat's Eye
6. Surfacing
I know I've raved enough about her range, but it's just extremely impressive that each of these entires are so different but so brilliant. This might be her most complex novel yet, and it's only due to the genius of the top half of my ranking that keeps this one out of first place.
Atwood takes the Danielewski approach and presents a story within a story within a story. Our main character is Iris, and she is reflecting on her life in Canada, which has included an unhappy marriage and a motherless childhood. The embedded story is called The Blind Assassin, and follows a pulp fiction writer, who tells a sci-fi story. It's less confusing than it sounds.
Iris is a somewhat familiar archetype in Atwood's writing, but she keeps it fresh with this unusual format. And personally, I can't get enough of Science Fiction Atwood. One of my goals in the List afterlife is to read everything Atwood has ever written, so it's not a goodbye, just a see you later.
But talk about going out on a high note.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Won the Booker Prize.
UP NEXT: The Human Stain by Philip Roth
No comments:
Post a Comment